Reflecting

In class this week we discussed tone and this just got me thinking about Paternostros tone in her memoir. Here is a woman who is writing about writing about Colombia and trying to see it more clearly after years of trying to block it. Paternostro is very truthful in this memoir and doesn't hide her view on Colombia and this all gives way to understanding her tone. As a result being the reader of this novel, I believe the tone that most describes it throughout the text is reflective.

Paternostro doesn't simply tell a story but actually thinks about it. She questions why things are as they are and drags the reader into these thoughts. It is not only  what goes on around her but she also tries to understand what her behavior reflects of who she is. For example in this quote, Paternostro is debating wether she truly is Colombian or not:

"I still define myself as Colombian when asked where I am from. But am I really? When does one stop being what one was born to be?" (page 21)

The writer does not ask questions to someone outside of the story when she says this. It is about her own thoughts of who she is. She continues asking questions like these to herself in the book and there is just a sense of detachment for either of the countries she calls home. The reader can also infer that the author does not want to get attached to where she is. As the author puts it: 

"I remind myself that I am here as the journalist who writes in English and who embraces American Liberalism wholeheartedly. I insist on this invisible armor because to admit that I am here for any other reason… is terrifying." (page 46)

This quote is another example of this sense of detachment  from everything. The need to where this "armor" and think of things in an American journalist way, shows that she is trying to view things critically and analytically as she reflects what she wants to achieve.